Process of making coated leather articles.



1.` H. BUTLER, PROCESS 0F MAKING `COATED LEATHER ARTICLES.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 22| |914.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917. 4?

J' AMES H. BUTLER, 0F GLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK. ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T0 FRANK W. AUSTIN, F GLOVERSVILLE, NEW YORK.

PROCESS 0F MAKING COATED LEATHER ARTICLES.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 7, 1917.

Application filed October 22, 1914'. Serial No. 868,096.

new and useful Improvements in Processes l of Making Coated Leather Articles, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawing.

My invention relates to the manufacturev of leather and leather articles, and has for its object the production of an improved process for coating leather in order to impart to it water-proof and insulating properties.

The principal novel feature of this invention consists in the vulcanization of rubber directly to leather, andthe coating thereby of the leather without destroying its elasticity. The leather isI treated after the usual process of preparingthe hide, by eX- tracting the oil and dressing the leather in auch manner that it will retain its plin penetrates the are tanned with a grease.

ability. The oil is removed as a preliminary to lling the pores with rubber and vulcanizing the same therein.

In carrying out my process, so-called washable leather is coated with liquid rubber, that is to say, a rubber solution which pores and covers the surface, and this is vulcanized upon the leather as a unit by means of appliances to be presently referred to. The washable leather or socalled washable process of tanning upon which my invention is based, depends upon a secret combination of chrome with fat liquid. Consequently,the skins which I use IThis procedure of combining chrome with oil, which produces a washable leather, while not in itself of my invention, American process not heretofore known or used abroad.

I am aware that it wasproposed, in the provisional British patent specification, No. 1867 3, dated August 25, 1902, to coat leather with india rubber by deposition out of a solution; but this applies to a different kind of leather. Such -degreased chrome leather is not soft and pliable, could not be substituted'forbil treated leather, and will not stand the process of vulcanizing without destroying the pliability of the leather which, in my invention, is preserved. p The practice of my invention,

' produced thereby,

I believe to be purely anV leather is dry, and a glove .2

companying drawings in which- Figure 1 shows a section of a piece of leather coated. according t0 my process.

Fig. 2 shows one form of glove produced by my process turned inside out.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of a glove with vulcanizing dies in place. l Figs. 4 and 5 are detailed sectional views of seams illustrating diiferent methods of making the same.

are illustrated in the-ac- In practisingmy process, I take a tanned A leather 1 (Fig. 1) produced by the so-called washable. process which, as stated, consists of treatment with a combination of chrome with fat-liquor or oil, remove traces of oil, if desired, with gasolene or similar solvent, then coat the flesh side 2 of the leather with a solution of raw rubber 3 which may be made in gasolene or other well known volatile solvent available for this purpose. This coating is allowed to dry by evaporation, leaving a deposit upon the leather and in the pores of the same, as indicated in Fig. 1. I then, apply raw sheet rubber 4 to the prepared surface of the leather and the rubber coating deposited thereo pose I may and do use -minute-cure rubber, and vulcanize in an oven heated with sixty pounds of, steam. The raw rubber sheet 4 softens, flows, and unites with the rubber solution 3 previously deposited on the leather, so that all the pores of the leather contain filaments of the rubber, and the surfaces of the two materials are strongly adherent..` The result, after vulcanizing,'is a unified and integral sheet or material which may be handled and worked the same as lenameled or other coated leather.

Figs. 2 to 5, inclusive, illustrate the use of this invention as applied to a glove. It will be noticed that the leather has previously been treated as described for the general process, to remove traces of oil. I might add that any other preliminary steps may be followed in the preparation of the leather which the condition of the material or general experience may show to be necessary or expedient.

The leather 1 thus prepared is cut according to the roper patterns for the glove to be made. he sheet rubber 4 is .cut in the same manner as the leather and after the coated these rubber pattern pieces are laid upon the corresponding leather For this pury pieces, so as to register therewith, the parts are stitched together, all the seams are reinforced with overlap ing rubber strips 5 secured in place by ru ber cement (consisting preferably of a simple solution of raw Arubber in a volatile solvent), the glove is turned ig. 3, French in to the mold when heated, and the heated mo ds arel then inserted, as .also shown in Fig. 3, and the glove is placedin an oven. I-Iere it is exposed to heat produced by steam or hot air and kept at'vulcanizing temperature until the rubber is entirely cured and all the constituents are reduced to-a homogeneous, continuous and integral tissue. This part ofthe process I have' carried on very successfully with a vulcanizing heat f of 60 pounds of steam, used for twenty minutes. As stated in the description of the general process, however, this time -may vary, as rubber containing sulfur may be prepared yin sheets so that it will cure in five-minutes, -in an oven heated with sixty pounds of steam. The exact time of exposure is, therefore, to. be determined by the operator according to the materialv employed and the results desired.,I vThefslower cure may produce 4a tougher lining, while the quicker curel may have its effect on the final appearance of the leather. j

The structural details of the glove or other article to be produced are, of course, not claimed, and need not be specifically dea rubber surface :gaseosa face to be inside the article, turning the yleather tissue inside out, coating the then outer surface of the leather and filling the pores thereof with a .solution of raw rubber, eyaporating the solvent therefrom, applying overlapping sheets of raw or uncured rubber thereto, so as to completely cover the leather surface, turning the article again, so as to bring the rubber coatin inside, inserting suitable heating dies, an exposing-the entire article to a vulcanizing temperature, both from within and without, whereby will be produced a leather integumentinteriorly coated with a' homogeneous and continuous practically integral with the leather fabric. L

In testimony whereof I affix my signature p in presence of two witnesses.

o JAMES H. BUTLER. .f Witnesses :i

JOHN TREHER,

ANNIE I. AUSTIN. 

